Kevin Pietersen’s relationship with England plunged to a new low on Thursday
when he retired from one-day cricket after the management took a hardline
stance over his attempt to pick and choose which formats of the game he
plays.

Hanging up the pyjamas: Kevin Pietersen played his last limited-overs match for England when selectors said he couldn't carry on with T20sPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

The England and Wales Cricket Board axed him from the Twenty20 set-up after giving him an ultimatum that he must make himself available for all forms of one-day cricket.

For the past two weeks, the ECB and Pietersen have attempted to find a compromise after he told them during the Lord’s Test that he wanted to retire from 50-over cricket but intended to continue in Twenty20 and Tests.

But Pietersen has been forced to accept a reduced central contract, which will mean he loses £177,000 from the players’ bonus pool, as the ECB attempts to prevent a flood of players retiring from the 50-over format to cash in on Twenty20 riches.

Pietersen has been downgraded from an ‘A-plus’ central contract to an ‘A’ grade which will expire in September. The ECB will spend the next three months deciding whether to renew his central contract at all after that.

“With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015,” said Pietersen.

“I am immensely proud of my achievements in the one-day game, but still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket. For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20.”

Andy Flower, the England head coach, made the final decision along with Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket.

Alastair Cook, captain of the 50-over team, was informed of Pietersen’s retirement only on Tuesday and, while he is disappointed, he also appeared unconcerned about its impact on his planning for the next World Cup.

Cook said: “Clearly every player has the right to decide their future. I’m disappointed. I think Kevin had a lot to still offer the England one-day team and he showed that when we moved him up the order. Our partnership against Pakistan worked really well. He is world class and we will miss him but it gives the chance for someone to take his place.”

Sources have indicated the reaction within the England team has been muted, with many simply accepting Pietersen’s decision as an example of his attitude to life and cricket. But the management are not so magnanimous.

Last week they fined him £3,000 for criticising Sky pundit Nick Knight on Twitter, an outburst which jeopardised the board’s relationship with its main income source.

Pietersen’s agent, Adam Wheatley, denied the fine was behind his decision to retire. “KP has been thinking about this for a while and, with England about to announce a one-day squad, he did not want to prolong it,” he said.

It was not Pietersen’s first fine for comments on Twitter or his first brush with the ECB, which sacked him as captain in 2008 for a public rift with the then coach Peter Moores.

More recently, England rejigged the one-day side, allowing Pietersen to open to keep him happy in the team. He responded with centuries in two matches against Pakistan and said he wanted to continue until the 2015 World Cup in Australia. But a few weeks later, after enjoying a successful IPL for the first time, he has changed his mind, leaving England to rethink their strategy.

“The ECB is disappointed by the timing of Kevin’s decision less than four months before we defend our ICC World Twenty20 title,” said Morris.

“As the programming and planning for ODI and T20 format cricket are very closely linked, we have a selection policy that means any player making himself unavailable for either of the one day formats rules himself out of consideration for both formats.”

England’s itinerary does not include Tests from mid-December until at least February next year, freeing Pietersen to possibly sign a contract in the Big Bash, the Australian equivalent of the IPL. In January, he signed a new $2 million (£1.3 million) IPL deal with Delhi Daredevils and his performances in the tournament have boosted his sponsorship value.